Essence of Truth
by Weiryn
Summary: When an unexpected fall doesn't go to plan, Tony Stark makes a new acquaintance who is not what she seems. In the days that follow, Tony finds himself being drawn in a story that has spanned over a thousands years. With surprises and magic at every turn, Tony will have to keep his wits about him. Not FrostIron


Heya everyone. This is my first fanfic that I've chosen to actually post. Hope you guys like it. Enjoy.

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"But don't be scared. falling's just like flying except there's a more permanent destination."

- James Moriarty, Sherlock

Chapter One: Falling

Tony Stark had been many things in his life. Playboy. Billionaire. Philanthropist. However, he had never anticipated the possibility of becoming a pancake. As he plummeted towards the ground at an alarming rate, he reflected that it probably would have been a good idea to include a backup power system in the suit. Because you see, it turns out that the arc reactor, when hit by psychotic flying cyborgs, has a nasty tendency to short circuit. While this would be a problem as it was on land, it became even worse when in mid-flight - several hundred meters above New York City.

"Jarvis, I could do with some help here," he yelled, wincing as the sound reverberated inside his helmet as the lights flickered on and off weakly. Everything was flashing red. If he survived this, he was going to make those lights a different color. Maybe gold.

"I'm sorry sir. Power is at 4 percent and falling. I'm a afraid that there is nothing I can do."

It was the answer he'd expected but it didn't make him happy. As Jarvis spoke, for a second Tony thought that the AI's smooth British voice sounded sad. While he had never specifically programmed Jarvis with emotions, he had included the ability to self-improve. Maybe he' developed emotions along the way. Or maybe it was just a product of Tony's overactive imagination.

"Not your fault Jarvis," he muttered as the ground came ever closer. Flipping in the air, he could see far above the flash of lightening and broiling clouds that signaled Thor's presence. Below, he had no doubt the rest of the team was smashing the cyborgs to pieces. He could picture them oh so clearly. The Captain would be there in his star spangled uniform, smashing the attackers with his shield. Natasha would be there, lethal in black. The Hulk would be smashing everything in his path and Barton would be perched somewhere high, picking off his targets one by one and Thor was frying everything with lightening. There was nobody and nothing to stop his fall.

For a moment, he considered trying to get hold of someone on their earpiece but dismissed it. There was no way that anyone could reach him in time. He had only seconds left.

He was going to die.

Of all the ways Tony Stark aka Iron Man had thought he would go, this was not one of them. He'd faced imprisonment, torture, Palladium poisoning and survived. He'd known from the moment he became Iron Man that his life expectancy wasn't going to be high. Superhero's had a nasty habit of getting killed, after all. Still he'd expected that his life would end in a blaze of glory at the hands of a villain - not because his suit malfunctioned.

The ground was sickeningly close now, the buildings rushing past in a blur of metal and glass. It was almost like flying. Only instead of touching down on the Avengers Tower, he was going to become a pancake on the pavement. Taking a deep breath, Tony closed his eyes and waited for the impact.

And waited.

Hesitantly, Tony cracked open one eye and found himself staring up at the sky. "Huh," he proclaimed, "I'm not dead. Fancy that." Groaning, he went to sit up only to get a shock. He was floating. Floating on a cloud of inky smoke with sparks of silver, to be exact. Panicked, he struggled to get upright only to be dragged down by his suit - without power it was damn heavy. Admitting defeat, he slumped down, his mind working overtime to try and decipher why gravity had decided to take a day off.

"Having some problems?" asked an amused over to his left. With a great deal of effort, he finally managed to turn over onto his side. The source of the voice was a woman ( or a girl really, depending on what side of twenty she was on) who was watching him with a smirk. Lifting his eyes to meet hers, he was surprised to find they were a brilliant shade of amberish orange that verged on red. Inhuman. They contrasted sharply against the deathly pale hue of her skin and her black bob. Standing there, leaning against a nearby shop front with a certain languid grace that, combined with her long limbs and delicate bone structure was positively feline.

"I take it you're responsible for this violation of the laws of physics?" Tony smirked, managing to push himself into a semblance of uprightness, "Let me guess - you're a witch or something. They seem to be a dime a dozen these days." Dressed casually in a black shirt and jeans, she didn't look like a magic user but as the Avengers had learnt the hard way, appearances could be confusing.

The girl didn't take the bait. Instead she grinned right back at him, the expression on her face positively wicked. "Or something. What I am isn't your concern," she paused, taking a step closer to him, "what you should be concerned about is the fact that you're now in my debt." Stepping back, she spun on the spot, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jeans. Tony stared bug eyed at her back as the began to walk away.

"Hey, wait a second. How the fuck am I supposed to pay that debt. I don't even know you're name."

The girl slowed to a stop but didn't turn around. "Oh, you'll figure out how to pay it off sooner or later," Tony could practically hear the smirk on her voice, "and the name is Hel." Then, she dissolved into a cloud of black smoke that floated away. Whatever had been keeping him in the air dissolved and Tony fell to the ground in a heap of sprawled limbs and metal. Tony let out a string of curses and resisted the urge to bang his head against the ground. Somehow, he had a feeling his life had become a whole lot more complicated.

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Just so everyone knows, my version of Hel completely ignores everything about her in the Marvel Comics.

Please review - I'll write faster with them,

- Weiryn


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